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it; we all know that. And that’s why we’re here—to rethink our thinking.”
    “But I thought——” Julian said, and then, realizing that he had slipped out of using the jargon for a moment, corrected himself, “I mean,
my
thinking——”
    “Yes?”
    “My thinking on Buttertoffs is that the best approach is a straightforward approach. You Can Taste the Butter in Buttertoffs. It’s true. So why not say so? All we really need is that headline. The rest is spinach—just lines on a page for the sake of the layout.”
    “I see.”
    “I mean, if there’s a consumer benefit at all, it’s in that headline.”
    The Marketing Man said, “It does rather depend, doesn’t it, on the assumption that people
want
to taste butter in toffees. Have we ever asked ourselves the question why they buy toffees at all?”
    Tony said, “Oh, I don’t know. Something to suck, I suppose. Or chew.”
    “Exactly.”
    The Television Director said, “Well of course, I’m just talking out loud. I mean—I don’t want to try to teach you chaps your own business. I’m just an amateur at this game really. But it seems to me that if you’re going to advertise food, you’ve got to show people actually eating it, whatever medium you use.”
    “Surely.”
    “And enjoying it,” the Art Director said.
    “Surely. Surely.”
    “But are Buttertoffs food?”
    “Butter’s food, isn’t it?”
    “We’re not advertising butter.”
    “That’s rather the point, isn’t it?” Mike said. “We’re not advertising butter, but if your headline makes Desmond think we are, then there’s something wrong with the thinking behind that headline.”
    “Yes, I suppose there is.”
    “Let’s start from scratch again motivewise, shall we?” Mike said. “Why exactly do children buy Buttertoffs?”
    “But
do
children buy them?” Julian said, “If we’re going to rethink anything, let’s start by rethinking that.”
    “What makes you think they don’t?”
    “Well, what are Buttertoffs? They’re just toffees in a packet. I don’t think children bother very much about how sweets are packaged. They just want a lot for their money. Sweets aren’t an impulse purchase with children; they’re a budget purchase. And Buttertoffs are appalling value. You only get eight in a packet, and that’s——
    “——Three farthings each,” said the Marketing Man.
    Mike said smoothly, “I don’t think we’ll get very far by knocking the product, shall we? If we don’t believe in Buttertoffs ourselves, we aren’t likely to make the consumers believe in them.”
    “No, I mean it. I think Buttertoffs are good—very good—for secretaries to keep in their handbags, for people going to the cinemas or trying to give up smoking, for—oh, for lots of people. But I just don’t think we should aim at the children’s market.”
    “If you felt like this, Julian, why didn’t you say so before?”
    “I’ve had a lot on my mind. I mean—it’s something that’s been growing on me.”
    “We haven’t any research on Buttertoffs?”
    “No, Mike. I don’t think Client felt like spending the money.”
    “No, of course.” Mike took up a pencil, and began to draw triangles on his blotter. “Well, Julian’s certainly given us something to think about.”
    Nobody said anything for a while. The Marketing Man found something wrong with his pipe. Tony said, “Well, of course we do know there’s a strong adult market for mints and that sort of thing. I’ve always thought of toffees as rather a childish sweet. I mean, I do think Buttertoffs are actually excellent in every way actually, but actually I don’t eat them myself. Rots the teeth for one thing.”
    Julian felt that he had won a point. “As a matter of fact,” he said, “—and don’t think I’m generalizing from a sample of one—it was my landlord’s daughter who started me thinking about this. I mean, she always carries a packet of Buttertoffs in her bag, and I began to